The differences between ‘natural’ vs ‘organic’ products is important to know.
Natural products are not regulated so any company can label their product as ‘natural’ even if it only contains one or two ingredients actually from the earth! This allows many companies to use the term ‘natural’ for marketing purposes. Of course, many of these companies are great but make sure you check the ingredients to see just how natural the product really is. Not surprising, considering organic food sales have from by 17-20% each year for the past few years vs only 2-3% for conventional foods!
Organic products can vary depending where you live because the regulations vary. Here, in California, where I live there are extremely rigorous organic regulations so any product labelled as organic must contain USDA certified organic ingredients from a farm that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without using any toxins, pesticides or harmful fertilizers. However, in the US, a product can contain the word organic in the name, without having any organic ingredients; it’s a loophole for many companies to falsely market their products as organic. In products like lotion, check to see if the first ingredient is water. If it is and its labeled as organic, this may mean the company simply added a few organic ingredients to the water not the product as a whole, so it is probably less than 5% organic.
Most brands that are truly organic will have information available on their website so if you’re unsure about a product, check its website. For me, I ignore any labels saying ‘natural’ and stick with ones that say ‘organic’ but I still check the ingredients list. Even if I’m not buying organic, there are ingredients I like to avoid like high fructose corn syrup in foods and drinks, petroleum jelly in skin care and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate in shampoo.
More information:
Life the Organic Life
Simple Steps
